Rescue
The main members of the Black Iron Claws had gathered in the dining hall.
The warm, friendly space where the firewood in the hearth had been crackling just moments ago was now wrapped in a heavy silence.
Korn was there among them as well. With a tense expression, he clenched his fists and waited for the report.
At the center of the gathered members sat the man who had rushed in earlier, still wearing clothes caked in mud and blood. Fatigue and panic were deeply etched across his face.
With trembling hands, he lifted a wooden mug of water to his lips, took a breath, and only then finally forced the words out.
“… The caravan escort mission was going smoothly at first. Thanks to Commander Valdo’s main force defeating the mercenary band that had been targeting the caravan beforehand… the trip to the eastern great city of Dagis went without incident, just as planned. But then…”
The young member broke off there, as if something had caught in his throat.
He squeezed his eyes shut, fists shaking, and steadied his breathing.
“On the way… along the highway, we ran into a pack of monsters! There were… ten… no, no fewer than twenty of them! I’ve never seen that many before…!”
At those words, the room erupted in murmurs.
Korn’s face stiffened as well, and he whispered something under his breath to the member beside him.
“A… pack of monsters?”
Valdo’s low voice echoed through the silent hall.
“Y-Yes… and they were monsters I’d never seen before… their fangs and hides were as hard as steel…!”
The young man’s face twisted as his shoulders trembled violently.
Just remembering it must have terrified him.
“Vice-Commander Carion and several others stayed behind as the rear guard… and let the rest of us escape. Thanks to them, the caravan made it to Dagis safely and on schedule. But… everyone was too badly injured to go back and rescue Vice-Commander Carion… so I, being the least exhausted, came here for help…!”
By the time he finished, his report had dissolved into sobbing.
At once, the dining hall exploded into uproar.
“More than twenty monsters!? Then Vice-Commander Carion is already…”
“N-No, if that many monsters appeared along the highway, then the lord’s knights of Dagis or the Adventurers’ Guild should be moving already, right?!”
“Th-That’s the thing… we reported it, but those bastards… they said no damage had come to the city, so… ‘We’ve got no obligation to go save some mercenaries.’”
“What…!? How can they say that!?”
“Tch… those people don’t think mercenaries are human.”
“But thanks to Vice-Commander Carion, the caravan reached town safely, right!? And still… that’s too cruel!”
Shouts overlapped with the crash of chairs toppling over, and the heat of the room rose fast.
Amid it all, only Valdo remained silent as he slowly stood.
In his gray eyes burned the unmistakable flame of resolve.
“Good grief… I figured the only ones after that caravan were those mercenary dogs…”
He growled low.
“… Didn’t think monsters would show up too.”
As soon as Valdo spoke, the uproar died instantly.
Then every member’s eyes turned toward him at once.
“... Everyone, gear up. We’re heading out to rescue Carion!”
At that command, the men thrust their fists into the air as one.
Chairs groaned. The floor shook. A roar thundered through the dining hall.
“Oooohhhh!!”
As if fired up by that energy…
I reflexively shot my tail straight up and cried out loudly myself.
“Nya–!”
What do you think about this chapter?
